Relative talking to herself

[meg1]

Can anyone offer any help with my mother. She was diagnosed with mid-stage dementia 8 months ago.
Her symptoms and behaviour has been typical of the illness, but recently she's started to mutter and talk indecipherably to herself. I'm really concerned about this because I didn't think this was a symptom of alzheimers. Has anyone experienced this? Thanks

 

[Vonny]

Hi Meg,

Your mum may actually think she is talking to someone, not to herself. It isn't uncommon for dementia patients to see things or people who aren't there. My mum used to talk about the little girl who lived in her wardrobe (her reflection) and grumble that the girl stole her clothes. Occasionally she would talk to herself about the girl but she may have thought she was having a conversation.

There are loads of different presentations with dementia. No two people are alike. Has she seen the consultant since her diagnosis? It could be she is due for another visit and maybe have her medication reviewed.

Vonny xx

 

[Nebiroth]

She may be having hallucinations/delusions , which is not that unusual, so she could be talking to people who aren't there.

It's also possible that she is talking to photographs, mirrors, or people on television, because she is no longer able to differentiate between these and real people (and, in the case of mirrors, cannot recognise her own reflection, but thinks it is someone else).

Other than this, I guess it's possible just to mutter and mumble...nothing is really excluded with dementia. I don;t think you can really take any sort of demonstration of mental impairment and say "that's not dementia"

It could also mean that your mother has lost the ability to express herself, and her mumbling etc is her only way of trying to communicate. Is she able to speak with people, etc?

If it;s the former, then it'll be up to you to try and decipher what she is trying to express. If mother is still able to communicate otherwise, and she is in no apparent distress, I would say, let her mumble.



You could raise the issue with her GP or CPN.

 

[jenniferpa]

I'm not sure that there are "typical" presentations of dementia. I mean to say, yes, some things happen more frequently than others, but there are always anomalies I think. Even whether she has Alzheimer's or one of the other dementia's can 1) make a difference and 2) be difficult to find out. Has your mother been inclined to talk to herself? (I do and I don't have dementia - it's like sometime one's internal monologue becomes more obvious). Alternatively, does she seem to be responding to someone/something? I would imagine if she was having auditory or even visual hallucinations she might act like this.

If it's something she's just started, you might want to consult her GP or consultant - she may have an infection of some kind which has produced this change, or it may be a downturn.

 

[Stimpfig]

Has anyone experienced this? Thanks

Hi Meg

My mother has been talking to herself for about 4 years now and if you will see my previous posts, I did report that she used to sit in front of the wardrobe and talk to 'her friend' in the mirror. She would continue to talk everywhere we went - in the lifts in the department stores or other shops with mirrors on walls - she would just stop and start talking to her 'friend' as she used to be pleased that her friend could also come to the places she went to. Even on the airplane, she would be delighted to see her friend in the tiny toilet !

My mother isn't able to walk or speak anymore in that she has lost the ability to articulate and formulate proper words but she can still 'mutter' and she continues to do that and did it even when she had the nasal gastric tube a few weeks back !!

I have seen other AD patients talk to themselves. So I would say it is quite common in AD that some patients chatter constantly. And there is a phase of laughing and being in high spirits followed by a phase of agitation and aggression, though not necessarily in that order. If you will do a search, you will find previous posts from others here who have reported this.

Hope this helps.

 

[Cl13]

Hi Meg, my mum has LBD, Lewy Body Dementia,
when mum lived with us I would often find her talking to some-one standing in the corner at the top of the stairs, she also see's children in tree's, at xmas she thought her brother and his entire family were behind our xmas tree, and would make drinks for them, then get very upset because she couldn't find them, I would sit her down with her cup and offer to find them, by the time I came back she'd forgotten.

Love Lynn

 

[karenlsinging]

My mum regularly talks to herself in the mirror and then says goodbye and gives herself a kiss in the mirror with the result that the full length mirrored wardrobe in their bedroom is covered in lip marks!

She doesn't so much mutter as whisper everything when she is telling you a story. Nothing to do with being unable to vocalise as she can do that too! Most stories are all jumbled up nonsense words but they always end with something like "so what do you think of that?"! She often thinks she sees little children that she speaks to.

All part of AD I'm afraid.

 

[susiesue]

My husband is always 'muttering' to himself - I think it is possibly because he is the only person who understands what he is talking about